Saturday, December 16, 2006

Charity

So its Christmas time, the time of giving and all that. Bah humbug! Just had to get that out of my system.

No seriously Christmas is a time for giving and I always remember even back home Christmas was when the Salvation army guys came out and set up shop on various corners of the city soliciting funds for the more needy. Nothing wrong with that.

Anyway I still see Salvation army folk up here in the T dot asking for funds for the less well off but Christmas in terms of collecting funds has become to me about the calls and the letters.

It seems as if when you give any donation to any charity they share your name with a million other charities who then proceed to attempt to solicit your help. Now in all fairness aint anything wrong with giving but if I'm giving 10 dollars here and there don't expect me to hoist every single charity on my back and give them 10 dollars because that money duz add up quicker than you think and in no time at all I would be one of those less fortunate, more needy, folks who need help as well. Ya understand?

So if I give to some children's thing or to help the homeless don't expect me to give to the Wild life fund and all the hospitals and the diabetes association and the cancer association and the prostrate cancer association and the save the planet fund and the adopt a starving child somewhere else in the world cause pretty soon my pockets would be bare and my child would be starving too.

Yea I know that's not what you want to hear. Its the season of giving so give selflessly. Well in my opinion selflessly can only go so far and sorry if that's not a very seasonal or Christian thing to say but its the truth. Ya got to give within your means same as you should spend within your means. That don't mean you cant be extra generous all I'm saying is you cant support every fella with a charity.

I'll help who I can but at the same time I aint saving no blind bats in Peru or hard of hearing owls in China. I might give something to a child fund here and there and a research foundation might get a one time thing but all animals got to break for themselves. When it come down to it I supporting starving people over animals any day. And also when it comes down to it I supporting people I know over people I don't know. If you live in east Mongolia I aint saying you don't deserve money but there is probably a poor fella in the Caribbean or a single mother with three kids in Toronto that I would give my money to first. Say what ya want about my rational and I realize the logic in a bit wrong but sorry that's the truth.

And another thing. In these letters I receive soliciting assistance why is it that the authors feel it is necessary to give me labels and calendars and pins and all sorts of memorabilia? Trust me that don't bribe me into giving anything cause the way I look at it its like so y'all want my money to buy knick knacks to give away to get other people money instead of giving the money directly to the actual cause that needs it. Sorry buddy that doesn't work for me.

All the money they spend making the labels, and personalizing my home address on stickers, they could give to the fund they are soliciting for. And why is there a fund of anything and everything? Grrrr.